


Cherished And Redeemed

by flickawhip



Category: Vanity Fair - William Makepeace Thackeray
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-06-07
Updated: 2016-06-07
Packaged: 2018-07-12 22:53:42
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 648
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7126558
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/flickawhip/pseuds/flickawhip
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Amelia and Dobbin find a little peace.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Cherished And Redeemed

The man she sees is still the same sweet-natured, docile man she had met long ago, he is no shorter, nor wider, but quite the same, except in age. His smile on seeing her lights his entire face in a way that flatters it and she swears she can feel herself smile in return. 

He is tall, and still quite clumsy at times, although he cherishes her, and her young son, well enough that she can forgive that. His eyes are always gentle and warm, more so now as he comes closer. His breath, as always, catches and she loves him all the more for the way he looks at her, as if, simply by being here, she is his entire world. 

His touch is light as he settles with her, gathering her close, seeking something but not pushing for it, he has never once pushed for her attentions, or touch, and she knows now, from the strain that comes to him, what he needs. 

She turns, allows him to frame her face with his large, suddenly soft, hands, accepting that this is what he needs, and she would not deny him it. His eyes, though still troubled, soften again as he looks at her. Before she can stop to think, or question it, she has taken his hands in her own, one dropping from her face to tangle their fingers together, his other still quite light against her cheek, stroking his thumb there gently even as her own thumb strokes against his wrist. 

They will sit, just like this, for as long as it takes for the panic that rises in him to abate. His smile, when it comes again, is just as soft as before, and she smiles truthfully this time, leaning to kiss him gently, a promise of affection, of love, everlasting. 

Life may not have been too kind, to either of them, but now, here, it means nothing. He is hers now. Her protector, and guide, and guardian. Her Dobbin. She knows now he always had been, but now she is just as much his. His honesty at last allowing her to see the truth, he has loved her, well, and for as long as they have known one another. His awkward nature, and seeming unease, fades with her, although he is still blessedly clumsy, still the same tall, slightly inelegant man who walked headlong into a chandelier. Had she known then, what she knows now, she might have chosen him first of all, as it is, she can look back on it and smile. 

Her first glimpse of the man who would prove to be her kindest, dearest friend and later, much later and after enough troubles to put them both through pain to last for lifetimes, her husband. She knows, now, that her family would never have thought it possible, she herself had never thought it possible, but it is Dobbin who loved her first and it is Dobbin she has truly needed. 

Peace, at last, for them both. Perhaps that was what happiness was, finding someone who might ease just a little of the pain. They talk little of Osbourne, or of Becky, anymore, she is more content to sit, and watch him as he relaxes, or sit in silence and think. Sometimes, when the mood strikes, she does pick up a light tune or two at the piano, breaking the silence and, sometimes, his mood. She can see when he needs it most and it is easiest to play, to sing, to chase his demons away. He has chased hers for her, enough times.   
He breaks the silence, at last, asking, almost pleading, that she would play something for him. She considers, then agrees, knowing what it is he would most need to hear, even now he seems happiest here, with her, able to watch, and know she is his.


End file.
